Log in

Guest Commentary: Resident clarifies suggestions for clubs

Posted

I am a Recreation Centers of Sun City West Governing Board director but I am speaking as a resident and not for the board or the association.

I would say to the dissatisfied residents who have shown their frustration in the letters to the editor regarding our staff that I’m also disenchanted with some of the staff’s attitude. This letter does not address all issues that impact the community, so I created a website and I would invite all residents of Sun City West to visit it at myscwhome.com. I would also encourage Sun City West residents to ask their friends to visit the site and let me know your thoughts in the feedback section.

The RCSCW enewsletter is the domain of the editor. If you feel that you have been misquoted, and ask for a retraction, the editor makes the decision if the retraction will be published in the same media that you were misquoted in. In the June 9, 16, 23, 2021 enews in the section: “Divided Board pushing major changes to chartered clubs, possibly opening to public; changes could impact Owner Member Dues,” the enewsletter stated: “One proposal offered by Director Lou Mancuso would dissolve the clubs’ independent 501(c)(7) statuses and move the clubs under the association’s 501(c)(4) umbrella. He further proposes that non-association members could enjoy the clubs by paying a fee.”

I stated as a suggestion at the June 4, 2021 Governing Board Workshop, “Any owner resident or non-resident could attend the function of a RCSCW charter club; however, there would be three levels of cost to attend the function.”

I believe the editor took my words, omitted one, which resulted in slanting the article, and by so doing changed the meaning of my suggestion, which, I believe, whether accidental or intentional, resulted in me being maligned. I have received many emails, phone calls and in person meetings where residents were unhappy because they read the e-news article and thought my suggestion was to open everything to non-residents.

It would be nice to have an apology in the same media that I was maligned. Although asked, I was denied. I would say this to the editor, as the editor you have great power, if you’re going to quote someone, please quote them exactly and use integrity!

In closing I would also like to mention to our owner members that RCSCW sponsored events can be attended by non-residents. However, they pay the same price as the owner members. Interestingly this wasn’t mentioned in this article.

The e-new article in the June 9, 16, 23, 2021 continued: “The impacts of such a major change have not been fully investigated yet, but we do know more staff would have to be hired to run the day-to-day operations of the clubs and handle the accounting for the clubs. This includes accounting for public usage of the club facilities.”

My response to a resident regarding the e-news article is that our RCSCW 501(c)(4) association incurs annually more than a $2 million loss for golf and bowling. In that response I said, “I realize we all pay dues, and our dues support the golf and bowling deficit. I would also mention that only about 25% of our residents play golf, which means about 75% of our owner residents that do not play golf are carrying golf and bowling deficits of more than $2 million annually funded by their dues.”

Certainly, some of the changes that will keep our community, nearly as close to what it once was prior to this issue, will result in some minimal additional cost. Would you refuse the 75% of our residents that do not play golf or bowl their fair share of our associations fiscal and facility resources?

I do not believe the committee convened to address the 501(c)(7) tax issue came up with all the solutions. There may be other solutions that I believe could be better than the current recommendations. See myscwhome.com.

The Village Store has been shuttered, some clubs have been forced to consider giving up their charter club status, many craft club windows are bare and residents are looking to their governing board and our general manager for resolution to these issues. Yet when asked for a special committee to revisit this issue, the board voted “no!”  Why not look at other solutions before eliminating some traditions that have been in Sun City West for some 40 years?

I suggest keeping our existing policy for golf and bowling, making a narrow change to the charter clubs’ guest policy for social clubs and keeping all of our other existing guest policies as they are. This minor change in guest policy would only permit non-residents as guests, they cannot join our charter clubs. All our other guest policies now in place would continue. There would be no additional non-residents at any other venue in our community, including pools, exercise areas, craft clubs, pickleball, tennis, rec center activities, yoga, etc. We do have a solid guest policy, and in my opinion, it should be enforced except for functions at some social clubs that include card and dance clubs.

Editor’s Note: Lou Mancuso is a Sun City West resident.